top 10

The Sundance Film Festival is best known as a haven for the sort of risky, low-budget movies that might otherwise fall through the cracks between the latest Hollywood blockbusters… but that doesn’t mean Sundance movies can’t make some serious bank! Here are 10 films that took home a little something more than just awards and acclaim — from “Four Weddings and a Funeral” to “Memento.”

John Malkovich is a multifaceted thespian: versatile, sophisticated and (let’s not forget) as creepy as it gets! While the actor can turn off his more disconcerting qualities to play straightforward roles, his most memorable performances use those ominous eyes and coiled-beast vocal tones to chilling effect. Here are 10 films featuring Malkovich characters we’d least like to run into in a dark alley.

“Jaws,” “Batman,” “Star Wars”….Some of the best over-the-top blockbuster flicks are routinely released when the weather’s at its hottest. Here are 10 summer blockbuster releases, all of them found in “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die,” that should be on your home-viewing list no matter what time of year it is.

Small-town life is laid bare in RECTIFY. What began as a drama about one man’s wrongful conviction has unfurled into a compelling portrait of a close-knit community whose peace is shattered by the past. Likewise, here are 10 dramatic movies, from “Napoleon Dynamite” tp “Blue Velvet,” that scratch at the surface of daily life in tiny towns, revealing the stark contrast between a community’s image and its reality.

From dramas to sitcoms, these high school TV show couples have brought us frustration, hope and everything in between.From “Freaks and Geeks” to “Arrested Development,”wWe were constantly hoping these characters would make a move, get together or break up.

The Academy Awards have been around for almost 90 years, but during that time, only about two dozen winning flicks have dared to bare the skin of their highly talented casts. Here are 10 of our favorite nude scenes in Oscar-winning movies, from Blue Sky to Monster’s Ball.

No other European country has been as influential in the world of modern cinema as France, and while French New Wave may have been the most important cinematic movement since WWII, the country’s also given us some great films just over the past 40 or so years—like these 10 French films, all of them found in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

From her hilariously insightful “Inside Amy Schumer” sketches—which use bawdy, ballsy humor to tackle serious feminist issues—to the silly tweets she sends out into the world, comedian Amy Schumer always makes our day better. With her new rom-com “Trainwreck” about to hit theaters, here are 10 memorable moments from Schumer that put a smile on our faces.

The San Diego Comic-Con begins this week, that celebration of all things comic (and television, and movie, and video game…) and the San Diego Convention Center will be filled to the rafters with fans, gawkers and cosplayers, many of whom are portraying their favorite comic book characters, from DC, Marvel and independent comic book companies.…

The psychodrama, the whodunit tension and the unknown dangers lurking around every corner can make for some riveting set-ups and shocking finales—especially when those finales leave you hanging by not revealing who the killer was all along.

In honor of the upcoming season of RECTIFY, we’re spotlighting siblings in movies and T.V. From brothers and sisters who make our hearts melt (like Gilbert and Arnie in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?) to relatives who strengthen their kinship by fighting crime (The Boondock Saints), here are ten of the greatest.

Over his long and legendary career, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg has tackled primeval fears and imaginative fantasy, captured the magic of childhood wonderment and found the human side of stories across almost all genres: literary adaptations, action-adventure, historical films and more. All of that makes whittling down his filmography to only his best nearly impossible, but these 1o movies—all of them found in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die—might be his finest.

The Cold War between the West and Soviet Russia, along with its collection of allies, began after WWII and lasted until the end of Communist rule. The divided state of East and West Germany may have presented the starkest contrast between the two ideologies, but as these 10 movies about the Cold War demonstrate, the whole world was involved. Find out what “From Russia With Love” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” had to say about the conflict.

They’re rude, crude, desperate, sexy and utterly captivating. At the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, womens’ roles pushed gender identity to new levels, challenged convention, and updated the world on the multiple lifestyles women lead in the 21st Century. Here’s a list of some of the movies that stood out, from “Bachelorette” to “Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present.”

Once relegated to clichéd stereotypes, LGBT characters have moved from the margins of mainstream entertainment into roles that champion and celebrate diversity in modern society, sparking debate and encouraging acceptance. Here are 10 movies–and their iconic gay characters–that have achieved landmark status for the way they represent the LGBT community on the big screen.

It’s not often that a movie adapted from a book turns out better than the original material—but when it does happen, the result is akin to cinematic magic. Here are 10 of our favorite movies, from “Brokeback Mountain” to “Mean Girls,” that were even more acclaimed than the books on which they were based.

“Airplane!”, “Ghostbusters”, “Tootsie.” Whether they trafficked in juvenile humor, whip-smart social satire, wacky hijinks or all points in between, American movies experienced a comedic heyday during the 1980s. As proof, check these 10 funny films from the decade that have earned a spot in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

He’s an Academy Award-winning actor who’s been deemed “Sexiest Man Alive” to boot. Plus, he’s got one mesmerizing voice that spews pearls of wisdom actually worth listening to. From his incredible acceptance speeches to lessons he’s learned over the years, here are 10 pieces of life advice the one and only Matthew McConaughey.

Skilled con artists, soldiers on the front lines of national security… and sex symbols? The most famous movie spies tend to wield some seriously seductive elegance in addition to possessing a deadly skills set. Here are the 10 cinematic secret agents you’re most likely to catch us surveilling—and salivating over.

Hollywood has never shied away from talking about tough subjects–and movies that take on the big issues are all the better for it. From “Dear White People” to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” here are 10 great movies about race that offer eye-opening insights on diversity, inclusion and acceptance.

The year 1999 was momentous in the real world—marked by President Clinton’s impeachment trial, the death of JFK Jr. and the debut of the Euro, among other headline-grabbers—and at the movies. Here are 10 films from that year that have earned a spot in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Germany’s capital city of Berlin has long served as rich terrain for filmmakers worldwide, be they Hollywood directors or indie auteurs. The following 10 movies, including “Run Lola Run” and “The Bourne Supremacy,” all shot in the once-divided metropolis, reflect the past and present of “The Grey City,” while showing off the best it has to offer.

Remember that time you brought your parents/first date/brother or sister to the cineplex not expecting to be embarrassed and all of a sudden–wham, bam, thank you m’am, there’s some crazy action going on on-screen? Us, too. “Black Swan,” “Jackie Brown,” and 8 more times we covered our eyes (in polite company, anyway) in the movies.